Potato-digger



(No Model.)

H. M. SHAW.

POTATO BIGGER.

No. 398,545. Patented Feb. 26, 1889.

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BY mg ATTORNEYS.

u. PETERS, Pholo-Lilhognphur. Walhington. n. c.

lira-Tran STATES PATENT OFFICE,

HIRAM MOE SILUV, OF GENOA, NEV YORK.

POTATO-DIGGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,545, dated February 26, 1889.

Application filed December 10, 1887, Serial No. 257,489. [No model.)

To all whom it rim y concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM'. MOE SHAW, of Genoa, in the county of Cayuga and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved PotatoDigger, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates toa machine intended for digging potatoes, and has for its object to provide a simple. inexpensive. and efficient machine of this character which will. dig the potatoes and then separate them from the earth so that they may be readily gathered for market.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts of the potato-digger, all as hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved potato-digger with one of the sulky-wheels and part of the separatondrivin gearing in horizontal section. Fig. 2 is a side view of the machine with parts in section on the line as as, Fig. 1; and Fig is a rear detail View of the separator driving gearing and adjacent parts.

The machine made with a sulky comprising an axle, A, two wheels, B B, thereon, a tongue or pole C, and draft-trees D on the tongue. The frame of the potato-digging mechanism consists of a couple of beams or bars, E 13, which are held to opposite end parts of the axle A, and preferably by a pivotal connection, allowing the bars to be raised or lowered by means of handles G G, connected to them, and which will be grasped by an operator walking behind the machine. The handles are connected by a crossbar, g.

The digging blade or hoe ll extends across the rear end of the machine, and is fixed at oppositecnds to the lower forwardly-curved ends of the beams or bars E F. The blade lies flat, or nearly so, and is formed with a central forwardlyprojecting point, 72, which cuts into the center of the hills of potatoes as the machine moves forward, and the straight portions of the blade, at either side of the point h, complete the digging operation. The dug potatoes, with the dislodged earth, pass back- 5 ward over the blade onto an agitator, which separates the potatoes and earth, as presently described. This agitator consists of a bar, I, which is pivoted at opposite ends in the hoebeams E F and ranges along immediately behind the hoe-blade ll. and is provided with a series of bacluvardly-extending lingers or tines, J, the agitator thus having the general form of a fork. To the bar I, near one end of it, is connected a pin or arm, K, to which is attached the lower end of a pitman, L, the upper end of which connects with a wristpin, M, set ecccntrically in a disk-wheel, N, which is fixed to a shaft, 0, journaled in the laterally-bent portion c of the hoe-beam E and in an arm, 6, connected to the beam. The forward end of the shaft 0 carries a bevelpinion, P, which meshes with a bevel gearwheel, R, fixed to the inner face of the adjacent sulky-wheel l3.

It is obvious that as the machine moves forward the fork I J will be oscillated vertically by the last abovedescribed mechanism driven from the sulky-wheel, and the potatoes and earth dislodged by the hoe H and passed therefrom onto the fork will be thoroughly agitated thereby to separate the potatoes from the earth and leave them on the field in a condition to be readily picked up or gathered for market.

The operation of this machine is very simple and effective, and there is nothing about its construction which is liable to easily get out of order, and it may be successfully worked by any ordinary farm-hand.

Having thus described my invention, whatl claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a potato-digger, the combination,with the axle A, wheels B, and gear-wheel R on one of its wheels B, of beams E, pivoted on the axle, ablade, H, secured to and connecting the beams, a shaft, I, journaled in the beams in rear of the blade and provided with tines J and the arm K, the shaft 0, journaled in the beams E and provided with the gear-wheel P, meshing with the gear-wheel on the drive wheel, and with a wrist-pin, M, at its other end, and the pitman L, connected to the arm K and to the wrist-pin M, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In a potato-digger, the combination, with the arm K, the shaft O, journaled in the beam the axle A, the Wheels B, and gear-Wheel R on E and provided with the gear-Wheel P and the 10 one of the Wheels, of the beams E F, pivoted to crank-pin M, and the pit'man L, substantially axle,the handles G, secured to the beams, the I as herein shown and described.

narrow blade H, secured to the beams and hav- 3 ing the central forwardly-projeeting point, h, the shaft I, journaled in the beams in rear of the blade and provided with the tines J and HIRAM MOE sIIAW.

ituesses: V

E. B. WHITTEN, THEO. A. MILLER. 

